Let us create a 3D eBook for you!
Let us create a 3d Digital eBook for you! DigyCat.com

 

Long Sales Letters vs. Short Sales Letters


Everywhere I turn, I'm being asked to weigh in on the issue of whether copy should be long or short in a sales letter. I receive countless newsletters on copywriting and marketing, and they are all still debating the issue.

I doubt that the question will be answered definitively, but after hearing from other Internet copywriters and after considering the issue myself, I've learned that if you follow three guidelines, the issue of length will become almost irrelevant.

Guideline #1) TELL PROSPECTS WHAT THEY WANT AND NEED TO KNOW TO MAKE A BUYING DECISION.

Interested prospects will read even a sales letter of several pages long if they are interested and if your sales letter has good content. Many of us are more interested in telling prospects what WE want them to know. But we should all be telling prospects what THEY want and need to know.

Guideline #2) OMIT NEEDLESS WORDS.

This guideline is actually Rule #17 from Strunk & White's famous little book on writing, _The_Elements_of_Style_. (If you write, you really should read this small but influential book.)

Anything that doesn't have a direct purpose or work toward winning over your prospect should be cut out. I don't care how much you want to tell them about what a great reputation your company has and how successful you were last year. Unless that information takes the reader one step closer to buying (admittedly, sometimes it does), cut it.

Do the research and know your target audience. Then, write with their needs in mind. Write everything your prospects want and need to read, but write ONLY what they want and need to read. Cut the rest.

Guideline #3) TEST. TEST. TEST.

This is the best indicator of how long your sales letter should be. If you don't like to test, you have to rely on luck. Not a good idea. Put together the best sales letter you can with everything a prospect needs to know to make a buying decision, cut out anything that's not essential reading for your prospect, then run it. Record the results. Rewrite a portion of the letter. Test again. Record the results. Keep doing this until conversion rates improve and you'll know how long your sales letter needs to be. Of course, this kind of testing is much easier online than in offline direct mail, but it needs to be done. (Offline direct mail will probably require a split mailing.)

Although many people will tell you that "research has shown longer sales letters pull better," the only research you should be paying attention to is your own. Long sales letters don't pull well for everyone.

There's an easy way to answer to the question of how long or short a sales letter should be. (It's the same for other similar questions of tone, diction, and how much text you should emphasize.) Determine the needs and desires of your readers and you'll have your answer.

About The Author

Matthew Cobb is an independent copywriter/consultant. Contact him at contact@cobbwriting.com or learn more about Sales Letters by Matthew Cobb by visiting his Web site at www.cobbwriting.com/salesletters, and sign up for his free monthly e-publication, The Seductive Sales Letter Clinic.


MORE RESOURCES:

Sales - Google News

What Nintendo's 2011 sales mean for Wii U, third parties - Gamasutra


Gamasutra

What Nintendo's 2011 sales mean for Wii U, third parties
Gamasutra
Regrettably, we have no good idea for the scale of retail sales compared to the online distribution. As the Nintendo DS begins its final descent into obsolescence, the company's new handheld – the 3DS – is just getting started. Its top-selling software ...
Report: Xbox 360 Best Selling Console of 2011TechnoBuffalo

all 15 news articles »

Orchids Paper Products Company Reports Record Quarterly Converted Product ... - Sacramento Bee


Orchids Paper Products Company Reports Record Quarterly Converted Product ...
Sacramento Bee
The increase in converted product sales resulted from a 46% increase in converted product tonnage shipped and a 2% decrease in net selling price per ton. The increase in shipments was due to a combination of new product sales which were primarily in ...

and more »

Apotex pays Bristol, Sanofi damages over Plavix - Wall Street Journal


Apotex pays Bristol, Sanofi damages over Plavix
Wall Street Journal
Apotex Corp., Canada's biggest drugmaker, has paid Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. and Sanofi SA, the two brand-name drugmakers that jointly sell Plavix, $442.2 million in damages ordered over its improper sales of a generic version of Plavix in 2006.

and more »

Beer sales could be boon for Arizona's universities - AZ Central.com


Beer sales could be boon for Arizona's universities
AZ Central.com
Several Arizona representatives have proposed a bill that would open the door to selling beer and wine to the general public at state university sporting events. My gut reaction was "never" as I envisioned stadium students sections turning into a ...

and more »

Fed Sells $6.2 Billion of Bonds From AIG Rescue to Goldman - San Francisco Chronicle


Bloomberg

Fed Sells $6.2 Billion of Bonds From AIG Rescue to Goldman
San Francisco Chronicle
The New York Fed in June ended its earlier plan to sell Maiden Lane II assets through regular auctions, following sales of about $10 billion. The face value of the assets had dwindled to about $21 billion when the auctions were halted.
Goldman in $6.2bn toxic asset dealFinancial Times

all 40 news articles »

iPhone on Sprint: Great for sales, terrible for profits - Christian Science Monitor


Christian Science Monitor

iPhone on Sprint: Great for sales, terrible for profits
Christian Science Monitor
The Apple iPhone was the top-selling smartphone of the last quarter, according to a new report from the International Data Corporation – the king of a smartphone market that has expanded by as much as 55 percent over the past year.
Sprint's iPhone sales can't stem lossesSan Francisco Chronicle
Sprint's First iPhone Sales Add to Wider LossWall Street Journal
You can lose money selling iPhone, just ask SprintBetaNews
Slate Magazine (blog) -Fox News -Seeking Alpha
all 548 news articles »

Wells Fargo's Carroll eyes cross-selling by brokers - Reuters


Wells Fargo's Carroll eyes cross-selling by brokers
Reuters
Wells Fargo is known to carefully track sales of credit cards, insurance and other products to its bank customers. And executives have embraced the idea of cross-selling. The firm does not have any mandatory cross-selling sales goals for its brokers, ...

and more »

Las Vegas Still Selling More Homes in January, Yet Prices Still Declining - World Property Channel


Las Vegas Still Selling More Homes in January, Yet Prices Still Declining
World Property Channel
The local housing market began 2012 in much the same way it ended 2011, local home sales increased compared to the same month last year while prices dipped. "We continue to sell existing homes at a record pace and at bargain prices," said greater Los ...

and more »

Newsstand Report: Sales Down Across the Board, Elle Plumets 18%, and ... - Fashionista


Globe and Mail

Newsstand Report: Sales Down Across the Board, <em>Elle</em> Plumets 18%, and ...
Fashionista
Glamour was at the industry average, selling an average of 469544 copies. Marie Claire wasn't far behind, falling 8.9 percent to 231054 and W's newsstand was down 7.4 percent to 20426. Harper's Bazaar's single-copy sales fell 7.3 percent to 147194.
Canadian magazine sales slip in 2nd half of 2011Globe and Mail
Newsstand magazine sales down 10% in USChina Post

all 106 news articles »

Average Salespeople “Fly By The Seat Of Their Pants” - Utah Pulse


Average Salespeople “Fly By The Seat Of Their Pants”
Utah Pulse
If you feel that selling isn't hard work you probably aren't as successful as you could be. 2. Salespeople don't think through the sale as they should. If you don't know the who, what, where, when, why and how of the sales opportunity, you are missing ...
The Forum Corporation: New Survey Finds That Traditional Relationship Selling ...MarketWatch (press release)

all 5 news articles »

Click here for Best Buy In-Store Pickup

StreetSideAuto.com

Looking For Royalty Free Photos for your Website, Business or Advertising?

My Life Through The Lens

List4Sale Domain Is For Sale - $10,000 For Enquiries eMail Us

© www.List4Sale.biz 2011

home | site map | links

eXTReMe Tracker